Cartridge-necking press



H. V. LECKIE.

CARTRIDGE NECKING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 25. l9l9. Patented 1 INv ENTD R maze/0E ATTORNEYH. v. LECKIE. CARTRIDGE NECKING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25. 19l9. 1,367,191,. Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

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H. V. LECKIE.

CARTRIDGE NECKING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-25,1919.

Patented Feb. 1, 1921.

UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE.

' HERBERT V. LECKIE, OF STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNEASSIGN- mnn'rs, TO nnmme'ron ARMS COMPANY, Inc, or new YORK, N. Y., A.conroim- TION OF DELAWARE.

Application filed February 25, 1919.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT. V. LECKIE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Stratford in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCartridge necking the end of the shell. In certain of these bottlenecked cartridges, it is very important that the distance between thebase of the shell and the shoulder formed by the necking ress be veryaccurately maintained. .n example of this is the U. S. Government .30cal. Springfield cartridge. Cartridges of this type breech up on th1sshoulder and therefore the distance between the shoulder and the basemust be very accurately determined in order. to, get the properrelationbetween the cartridge and the extractor and firing pin.

It often happens that cartridge shells are crushed or otherwise deformedduring the necking process and it is necessary to eliminate suchdeformed shells before the shells pass on to the next operation.

It is an object of my invention, therefore, to provide an improved presswhich shall be capable of necking shells or performlng similaroperations with great accuracy. it is a further object to providemechanism for automatically sorting out defectively necked shells andseparating them from shells properly necked. i It is a further object ofmy inventionto generally improve the construction andopr eration ofmachines of this type so that they may perform their function withafminimum of attendance and repairs, and at a ver low cost. r

enerally speaking, my invention maybe defined as comprisingtheconstructions and combinations recited in the annexed claims andillustrated in certain embodiments in the drawings accompanying andforming a part of this application, wherein:

Figure 1 is a partial front elevation of a press. embodying myinvention.

Specification of Letters Patent.

CARTRIDGE-NECK ING PRESS.

Patented Feb. 1, 1921. Serial No. 279,051.

ig. 2 is a partial .sectionalview on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking inthe direction of the arrows, the parts being shown in a somewhatdifferent position.

Fig.3 is a partial'side elevation of the machinelooking from left toright.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3,showing also the construction of the gage and the elecrticalconnections.

Fig. 5 shows the gage of Fig. 1 in the act of 'aginga defective shell.

l ig. 6, is a perspective view showing a part of the construction shownin Fig. 4.

In these drawings the numeral 11 indicates the bed of thepress,-preferably supported by suitable legs 12 and formed integral withthe side standards 13 connected by a tie bar 13'. These standards areformed with suitable bearings for receiving the horizontal shaftll'carrying a heavy belt wheel 15 and provided near its middle portionwith a crank 16. Operated by this crank is a connecting rod 17 suitablyconnected to a cross-head or gate 18, which carries a number of suitablydesigned tools for successively operating upon the shells.

The shells are carried by a rotatable work holding table 20 and arethereby presented to the successive action of tools carried by the gate.These shells are held in position on the table by any usual mechanismand are presented to this holding means either manually or by a suitablydesigned automatic feed mechanism. 1

At its left end the shaft 14 carries a disk 21 having an off-set lug 22which carries a 1 stud 23 slidable in an elongated slot 24 in the end offeed lever 25 suitably mounted on the sideframe 13 as at 26. To thelower end of this lever. as at 27 is pivoted a link 28 pivoted atitsother end 29 toa slide 30 suitably held against the side frame byguide plates 31 and 32. This slide carries a pivotally mounted pawlBdspring-pressed b any suitablemeansagainst the ratchet teet 35 on therotatable work table. It will be seen from this that during eachrevolution of the wheel 15 the work? table is'advanced one step and thatthe parts are so arranged that this feed will take placed'urin'g theupward movement of the t g 1 'ga'sketfil. V Thave found that thsconstruc- In Fig. l the shells numbered 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 showthe condition of the shell after the various operations. Shell 40 is ina position under the opening punch 47 which serves tostraighten out anyslight defect of the endof the shell. Shell 41 is shown in positionunder the die 48 which is the pre liminary body tapering die whichoperates on the shell to form the shell shown at 42.

Die 49 acts further to finish the body taper and produces the shellshown at 48. Die 50 effects the preliminary necking of the shell andprovides the result shown at 44. 51 represents the finish necking dieand forms the 'shells'hown at 45 which is then penetrated by the sizingpunch 52 which sizes the neck to avoid a certain amount of looseness orplay in the Various joints between the main shaft journals and the tool.Forthis reason it has been Very difficult heretofore to accuratelylocate the shoulders on shells of this type. In order to avoidinaccuracies due. to loose bearings, I have provided a special mountingfor the finish necking die which is shown in detail in Fig. 2. This die51 is adjustably mounted by means of threaded stem 54 in a die carrierwhich is provided with a shoulder 56 for a purpose to be describedlater. This housing has an upward extension 57 received in hole 57 in'thegate 18 and is held therein by means of. a screw 58 freely carriedby'abushing 59 and. held in adjusted position by a nut 60. Between thehousing and the lower face of the gate 18 I have provided a resilientcollar orgasket .61 preferablycomposed of rubber or similar material. Near the end of the down stroke the die housing '55 passes into anaperture 62 in an anvil or abutment 62' suitably carried on the pressbed by a block 631andhelddown by means o fbolts' stand "65.

theanvil 62 1s very rigid the die housing and die are movedto exactlythey same position at each operation of the press andth'e work producedthereby will therefore be accurate within very close limits.

'Any looseness in the various hearings will be. compensated for by theresiliency of the tion gives; excellent results wherever finishoperations to very close dimensions are necy- 1 I After the, shell;haspassed the sizing punch 52 it is positioned in the path of anelectric gaging device generally designated by the numeral 70. Duringthe upward stroke of the gate the shell is then moved into positionabove the aperture 71 in the bed plate 11 through which it now drops. Itis doflected in its fall by a shield 72 and it the shell is a perfectone it strikes the wing 73 which directs it through the chute 7% intothe receptacle 75 for accepted shells. The chute 74 may be supported inany desirable' manner as by a bracket 74'. U the shell is defective thewing 78 will be tilted upwardly so that the shell will drop into thereceptacle 7G for defective shells. lligidly carried by the legs 12 is aplate 80 provided with lugs 81 and 82 which support a horizontal shaft83. Mounted upon this shaft are abutinents 84 and 85, which may be inthe form of collars as shown. between which collars is mounted a coilspring 86. Collar 85 rests against a crank arm 87 carried by the shaft88 which is suitably journaled in lugs 89 and rigidly carries the wing73. The arm 87 and connected parts are held in the position shown inFig. 3 by a spring 90 attached to a fixed standard 91.

The slide 30 carries a downwardly extending plate 92 which may be in theform of an inverted T as shown. This plate carries a lever 93 pivoted at94- and normally drawn. against the stop 95 by a suitable spring 96. Anelectric magnet generally designated by the muncral 97 is carried by theplate 92 and serves to lock the lever 92) against the tension of thespring 96 into the position shown in Fig. 3 whenever the magnet isenergized by the closing of an electric circuit by the presentation ofthe gage to a defective shell. In normal position of the lever 93 itsforward end clears the collar S4 and said collar is not moved upon theforward excursion of the plate 92. However. when the gage is presentedto a defective shell the magnet is energized by mechanism to bedescribed later, and the lever is moved into the position shown in Fig.23 and upon the forward motion of the plate 92 the forward end thereofengages the collar 84 and through the spring 86 slides the collar 85forwardly. thereby moving the wing 73 into rejecting position so thatwhen the defective shell reaches the opcning 71, it falls directly intothe receptacle 76 for defective shells.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5. the numeral 100 designates the gage housingprovided with an upwardly extending tang 100' received in an aperture inthe gate 18. The gage housing contains a conformation gage ,101 and aplug gage 102 held together by a pin 103 one end of which slides freelyin an elongated slot 104 in the gage housing. The gages are held indownward position by coil spring 105. If the gage is presented to aperfect shell such as --106thepluggage will enter therein and.the--conform ation gage will surround the shell in the position ,fiberor or er insulating material. -The lug 82 carries aplate 110 upon whichis mounted a contact spring 111 insulated therefrom by a suitableblock112. The contact spring 111 is continuously in contact with theplate 92 except when said plate is in extreme for- WELIClPOSllJlOIl atwhich time the contact is broken. The source of current which may be anysuitable battery or generator, is indicated by the numeral 113. Oneterminal thereof is connected to the spring 111 by asuitable connector114. The other terminal thereof is connected with one terminal of themagnet 97 by the connector 115. The other terminal of the magnet isconnected by'means of the conductor .116 to the spring finger 108. Theparticular means for doing this may comprise a stationaryplate 125 uponwhich slidably bears an extension 126 of the finger 108. (See Fig. 1.)It will be obvious that if the pin 103 comes into contact with thefinger 108 that a circuit will be completed through the batteryandlnagnet as follows: conductor 1141, spring 111, thence through thebody of themachine to the pin 103, finger 108, extension 126 plate125conductor 116 thencethrough the magnet and back to the battery throughthe conductor 115. The magnet will thereby be energized and the armature.93" on the lever 93 will be attracted thereby and said lever moved.into the position shown in Fig. 3.

As the contact made by the gauge of veryshort duration I found itnecessary to provide special means for retaining the lever :93 inoperated position until it has been able to cause the shifting of theselectlng wing 73. The magnet iscarried by an L shaped bracketcomprising a horizontal arm 117 and a vertical arm 118 rigidly attachedto the plate 92. The arm 117. carries an insulating block 119 upon whichis mounted a spring 120 preferably made of brass and provided with asoft iron armature 121 and a contact 123 located adjacent contact 124.on the arm 117. The spring arm 120 is placed into electrical connectionwith the conductor 116 by a short connector 122.

It will be seen that if the circuit is momentarily closed by theconnection of the the contact 124 and thereby establish a shunt circuitthrough the 3 conductors 122, 120, contacts 123, 12 1 plate117 to theplate c If the circuit is now broken at the gage, the

magnet will nevertheless remain energized and hold the lever 93 inoperated position.

'lhe'operation ofthe machine may be restated as follows: If the gage ispresented to a perfect shell, the shellfollows its normal course to thereceptacle75. If theshell is a defective one, however, an electriccircuit i is closed by the engagement ofthe parts 103 and 108. Themagnet is thereby energized and attracts the armatures93' and 121movingthelever93 into theposition shown in Fig. and closing a shuntcircuit through contacts 123 and 124, thereby retaining the lever 93 inoperative position. Upon the frn'ward excursion of the plate 92 thelever 93 engages the collar 84 and through the connectlons describedhereinbefore moves the wing 3 outofoperative position wherebythe shellis permittedto dropinto the re ceptacle '76 for defective shells.Nearvthe extreme forward position of the plate 92 the end thereof clearsthe contact spring 111 which breaks the electric circuit and deenergizesthe magnet. "on the next stroke of the machinethe parts are permitted toreturnto the position shown in Fig. 4.

Besides serving to accurately control the tool 51 in performing thefinish necking of the shell, the abutment 62 Y serves to limit themovement of the gate 18 by taking up the back lash and thereby controlsthe limit of movement oi' the electric gage. As the proper functioningof the gage depends upon its presentation to the shell to a specifiedextent, the gage and abutment coiipcrate to some extent for bestresults.However, they may be used separately if desired. 1 It will be seen thatI have providedmeans tor admirably carrying out the objects set forthabove and While have shown and described particular means preferred byme, it is to be understood that the invention may beembodied in otherform without departing from the principle thereof. However,

What I claim as my invention and desire a secure by Letters Patent oithe United States isf 5 l 11. In a cartridge necking press, areciprocable tool carrier, acartridge necking tool resiliently carriedtherebyand a rigid stationary abutment engaged by the tool 51 near theend of the stroke ofthe tool. carrier, whereby the motion of the tool isterminated at precisely the same point at each'operation irrespective ofany variation in the limit of movement of the tool carrier.

2. The combination of a reciprocable tool carrier having an aperturetherein, a tool provided with a shoulder and a reduced portion abovesaid shoulder, said reduced portion being received in said aperture, aresilient means between said shoulder and tool carrier and an abutmentfor terminating the motion-of said tool. V

,3. Thecombination of a reeiprocable tool carrier having an aperturetherein, a tool provided with a shoulder and a reduced 7 portion abovesaid shoulder, said reduced portion being received in said aperture, aresilient means between said shoulder and toolcarrierand anabutment forterminating the motionof said tool, said abutment beingprovided with ahole through which said tool extends.

' 4; In a machine for operating on cartridge shells or similar bodies, amovable deflector plate so constructed and arranged as to distribute thebodies operated upon into either one of two groups depending upon theposition of .said plate and electromagnetic means for determining theposition of said plate; e

5. In a machine for o cratin on cartrid e shells' or similar bodies,a-movable deflector plate so constructed and arranged as to distributethe bodies operated upon into either one of two groups depending uponthe position; of :said plate and electro-magnetic means for determiningthe position of said plate, said :electro-magnetic means comprising anoperating magnet, a source of current a' gagecontrolled circuit closerand suitable connections therebetween.

- 6. In a machine for operating on cartridge shells or similar bodies, amovable deflector plate so constructed and arranged as to distribute thebodies operated upon into either one oftwo groups depending upon theposition of said, plate and eleetro-magnetic means for determining theposition of said plate, said electro-magnetie means comprisestablish aconnection between said contact and said gage.

9. In a machine for operating on cartridge shells or similar bodies, amovable deflector plate so constructed and arranged as to distribute thebodies operated upon into either one of two groups depending upon theposition of said plate, means for determining the position of said platecom arising an operating pawl normally out 0 operative position, anabutment operatively connected with said plate and engageable by saidpawl when in operative position, and electromagnetic means for movingthe pawl to operative position.

10. In a machine For operating on cartridge shells or similar bodies, amovable deflector plate so constructed and arranged as to distribute thebodies operated upon into either one of two groups depending upon theposition of said plate, means for determining the position of said platecomprising an operating pawl normally out of operative position, anabutment operatively connected with said plate and engageable by saidpawl when in operative position, and electro-magnetic means for movingthe pawl to operative position said electromagnetic means comprising anoperating magnet, a source of current, a gage controlled circuit closerand suitable connections therebetween.

11. In a machine for operating on cartridge shells or similar bodies, amovable deflector plate so constructed and arranged as to distribute thebodies operated upon into either one of two groups depending upon theposition of said plate, means for determining the position of said platecomprising an operating pawl normally out of operative position, anabutment operatively connected with said plate and engageable by saidpawl when in operative position, and electro-magnetic means for movingthe pawl to operative position said electromagnetic means comprising anoperating magnet in circuit with a source of current, a gage controlledprimary circuit closer for closing said circuit, and a secondary circuitcloser. for maintaining the circuit after the primary circuit closer hasbeen opened.

In witness whereof I have signed m name hereto this 20th day of Feb,1919.

HERBERT V. LECKIE.

